Don't Stress Success

In life we are always competing for something always striving to be the best, to be first. Some want to be the first to start a trend, others want to make the best grades and some of us just want to show the world we made it through college without needing to be institutionalized. However when it comes to sports competitions the athlete always has a set of rules when going up against their competitors. So I wonder, in the competition known as college life, are there any rules when it comes to being successful?

Student-athletes make sacrifices to play their sport. They abide by rules, give up their free time for practice and games, forgo time with friends, miss out on school breaks, and sometimes miss class due to their athletic schedules all in hopes of being a top competitor. To gain the privilege of being a student-athlete, they must follow rules and regulations because once that athletic uniform is worn they not only represent themselves but their team, their sport and their school.

I was surfing the Internet at the usual ungodly wee hours of the morning and stumbled upon a video of Arnold Schwarzenegger during his Mr. Universe years. I’d like to share Schwarzenegger’s six rules for success. 1. Trust yourself no matter what anyone else thinks. 2. Break the rules, not the law. It is impossible to be a maverick if you don’t think outside the box. 3. Don’t be afraid to fail; you can’t be paralyzed by fear because you have to push yourself. 4. Don’t listen to the naysayers, people are always going to say you can’t but those people don’t matter. 5. Work your butt off. You sleep 6 hours a day, that gives you 18 hours left and if you sleep longer than 6 hours, I’d recommend sleeping faster. There is always someone getting better or smarter out there, remember that. 6. A very important rule, give back. Whatever path you take in life you must remember to give something back to your community, your successors and your country.

Now that we are in college the guidelines that govern our lives are completely up to us. You aren’t always going to win but that doesn’t mean you aren’t always going to learn something. Now is the time to do something just to say you did it and I’m not talking about breaking the law either.

It took my entire adolescent life to realize there is no such thing as “the best” there is only current record holders. With that in mind begin writing your rules for success today. My first rule to surviving college and beyond is simple- breath.